U.S. OPEN: No. 18 nails Merion's mystique

On the 18th hole dreams are made. On the 18th hole forgettable rounds come to merciful ends.

Golf’s greatest courses are filled with fantastic finishers — St. Andrews’ run in toward the Royal & Ancient Clubhouse, TPC Sawgrass’ dog-leg left over the water, Pebble Beach’s picture perfect par 5 come to mind.

The coup de grace at Merion Golf Club deserves to be mentioned in the same breath.

The par-4, 521 yard 18th hole will make a player flinch. You’d find plenty of spectators flinching too for fear of what they’d experience if they were teeing it up.

For all its notoriety, Merion isn’t considered to have one ‘signature’ hole. Some say the quaint 115-yard, par-3 13th. Others the 367-yard, par-4 11th with the green surrounded by the Baffling Brook, the place where Bobby Jones completed the Grand Slam in 1930.

No. 18 sure checks off all the boxes in my book.

Spectators can catch a glimpse from high above the hole, its tee box set below in a quarry, a truly daunting visual.

The drive — mostly blind and over the quarry — states its requirements simply; hit it long and straight or you’re done for.

Even if the drive is straight there’s no guarantees it won’t run into the left ultra-thick rough thanks to the severe slant of the narrow fairway. Its monstrous trees lining the left side of the fairway reflect the hole and the course’s history, just like the rock wall on the right short of the fairway. From tee to green, the hole undulates like a flag rippling in the wind until reaching its dome-shaped green nestled next to the recognizable white and green-eaved clubhouse.

Indicative of the course’s century-long story — it’s hosting its 18th U.S. Golf Association championship and now a fifth U.S. Open — the 18th hole established its fame thanks to Ben Hogan’s 1-iron to help secure the Open title in 1950. The shot — and hole — achieved legendary status largely due to Hy Peskin’s unforgettable photo. Countless spectators all week have asked the rangers lining the final fairway where they can see the plaque commemorating the shot, wishing aloud they could walk out and get a glimpse themselves.

In the lead-up to the tournament the storylines said Merion would be too short, too old, too wet to test the field like a U.S. Open should.

The 154 players who weren’t under par when the second round was suspended due to darkness would beg to differ.

That leaves just two players — five-time runner-up Phil Mickelson and 26-year-old Billy Horschel — who made it through two rounds under par. They share the 36-hole lead at 1-under.

No. 18 can claim quite a bit of credit for not letting those pre-tournament predictions come true.

At the end of Friday it was playing as the toughest hole at Merion, allowing just nine birdies all tournament. The 129 bogeys were second only to the 504-yard par-4 fifth and its 34 double bogeys were the most of any hole.

Mickelson closed his round Friday with one of those nine birdies. To his surprise, admittedly.

“It feels great. I wasn’t expecting birdie there. It’s a very difficult hole,” the four-time major winner said. “When you don’t really expect to get one, I put the ball in a good spot and was able to roll one in.”

Mickelson may have been speaking with his usual humility, but it’s clear players believed par was a win on No. 18.

A new chapter will be added to Merion’s history Sunday. Its final hole certainly deserves the spotlight.